Psalms 63 · ESV Study Bible

My Soul Thirsts for You

PSALM 63 [†] O God, you are my God; t earnestly I seek you;

u my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

as in v a dry and weary land where there is no water.

2[^] So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

beholding w your power and glory.

3[†] Because your x steadfast love is better than life,

my lips will praise you.

4 So I will bless you y as long as I live;

in your z name I will a lift up my hands.

5[†] My soul will be b satisfied as with fat and rich food,

and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,

6 when I remember you c upon my bed,

and meditate on you in c the watches of the night;

7[†] for you have been my help,

and in d the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

8[†] My soul e clings to you;

your right hand f upholds me.

9[†] But those who seek to destroy my life

g shall go down into h the depths of the earth;

10[†] they shall be given over to the power of the sword;

they shall be a portion for jackals.

11[^][†] But i the king shall rejoice in God;

all who j swear by him shall exult,

k for the mouths of l liars will be stopped.

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

PSALM—NOTE ON 63:8 clings. Or “holds fast” (Hb. dabaq); cf. Deut. 4:4; 10:20; 11:22; 30:20; 1 Cor. 6:16–17 (see esv footnote).

PSALM—NOTE ON 63:3–4 Confidence for Future Worship. The past tense recollection of v. 2 becomes a future expectation: my lips will praise you, I will bless you, I will lift up my hands. This activity of praising, blessing, and lifting up hands (cf. 28:2; 134:2) takes place in the sanctuary. Lifting up hands is a sign of directing one’s prayers and praise toward God, and helps the worshiper to focus his thoughts on God. The ground of this expectation is 63:3: because your steadfast love is better than life.

PSALM—NOTE ON Psalm 63. This psalm opens as if it were a lament, seeking God in a time of trouble; and yet the overall flow of the song is one of confident expectation. Hence it is best to see the psalm as enabling each of God’s people to develop confidence during their times of trouble. In particular, the psalm inculcates the confidence that the worshiper will indeed be able to return to the sanctuary to worship God. Biblically, the highest privilege a mortal can enjoy is to be a welcome member of the worshiping congregation; and the psalm, in instilling such confidence, also enables its singers to treasure this worship as the gift that it is. The several references to “my soul” (vv. 1, 5, 8) point to the intensely personal devotion to God that infuses the whole song. The title links the psalm to David’s days as a refugee, but it is not immediately clear whether the reference is to fleeing from Saul (1 Sam. 23:14–15; 24:1) or from Absalom (2 Sam. 15:23, 28). The latter may seem more likely, since the author calls himself a king (Ps. 63:11); cf. also 2 Sam. 16:14 for the term “weary” found in Ps. 63:1. On the other hand, the land through which David fled is not normally counted as part of the wilderness of Judah, and David could have thought of himself as a king even when he was fleeing Saul, since Samuel had already anointed him.

PSALM—NOTE ON 63:7 shadow of your wings. See note on 17:8.

PSALM—NOTE ON 63:1–2 Remembering Past Worship. The song opens with passionate expressions of longing for God: earnestly I seek, my soul thirsts, my flesh faints. (No doubt the arid conditions of the wilderness of Judah provided the image of a dry and weary land where there is no water.) Clearly the singer misses God; but in particular, he misses his experience of God in public worship: the sanctuary is the place of corporate worship, and God’s glory is his special presence with his people, which is given and enjoyed in the sanctuary (see note on 26:4–8). People are said to see (or look upon or behold) this glory (e.g., Ex. 16:7; 33:18; Num. 14:10; Deut. 5:24).

PSALM—NOTE ON 63:11 swear by him. This could be “swear by the king,” or it could be “swear by God.” The second is more likely (cf. Deut. 6:13; 10:20, where swearing by the Lord’s name displays loyalty to God). Thus the psalmist (King David) invites all the covenantally pious to join him in his confidence.

PSALM—NOTE ON 63:10 portion for jackals. Because jackals often scavenge, this image is a grim description of dead bodies, lying unburied after a battle.